Claim: Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz laid the foundation stone for Pakistan’s first government-run school catering to children with autism.
Fact: This school catering to children with autism is the first one to be launched in Punjab, not Pakistan.
Between 4 and 5 October 2024, a number of news sources including The Express Tribune, The Nation, Dunya News, ARY News, and Dawn published articles reporting that the Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif laid the foundation stone for Pakistan’s first government-run autism school.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check initially found a post on X which referenced the article by Dawn on the country’s first autism school, stating that the claim was false. A screenshot of the post is shown below:
The post claims that “C-ARTS was established in 2018,” which is a reference to the Centre for Autism Rehabilitation and Training, Sindh.
According to the “About Us” page on the C-ARTS website, the institution is owned by the government of Sindh and was established in 2018. The services provided by the center include a “School and Academic Program” with 694 students enrolled currently. The page also stated that “All services to Autistic children are provided free of cost as per the vision of the Government of Sindh.”
The institution’s inauguration by then Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on 8 September 2018 was documented by ARY News, The Express Tribune, and The News International.
Soch Fact Check also reached out to the C-ARTS administration, who confirmed that they have been a functioning government institution that was launched well before the foundation stone for the autism school in Punjab was laid on 4 October 2024.
Additionally, Soch Fact Check reached out to the Special Education Department of the Government of Punjab. Superintendent Razaq confirmed that the foundation stone was laid for the first school in the province of Punjab that will cater to children with autism. He explained that while schools catering to differently-abled children were run by the Punjab government before this, these schools did not cater to children with autism in particular.
Furthermore, the Facebook page of the Directorate General of Special Education Punjab posted about the event where Maryam Nawaz laid the foundation stone for the autism school in Lahore. The post makes clear references to the school being a project on the provincial level. It stated that the event marked a “significant milestone in providing specialized education and support to children with Autism[sic] in Punjab,” and that it is part of the “government’s efforts to establish centers of excellence for special education across the province.”
In light of the statements from C-ARTS and the Special Education Department of the Government of Punjab, and the Facebook post by Punjab’s Directorate General of Special Education, Soch Fact Check concludes that the autism school recently launched in Lahore is not Pakistan’s first government-run educational institution catering to children with autism. Hence, Soch Fact Check rates this claim as misleading.
Virality
Local news outlets reported the claim here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Facebook, the claim was found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On X, the claim was found here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On YouTube, the claim was found here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, the claim was found here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The government-run school catering to children with autism that was launched on 4 October 2024 is not the first such school in Pakistan. Rather, it is the first school for children with autism in the province of Punjab.
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Background image in cover photo: 24 Digital
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